The Nothing
by Haiku Kitten
Summary: Brainiac 5, in the days before R.J. Brande took him in. Warning for child abuse.


**The Nothing**

By: Haiku

Fandom: Legion of Super-Heroes, Reboot

Characters: Brainiac 5, R.J. Brande

Rating: K+

**Summary: **Brainiac 5, in the days before R.J. Brande took him in. Warning for child abuse.

**Author's Note: **This is sort of a prequel to my other fic, Monsters. Both can be read as stand alone, however. For this fic, I wanted to explore what might have happened to Brainy after his rogue experiment killed one of his caretakers on Colu (see Legion of Super-Heroes Reboot #77). I think the general consensus is that Brainy's about ten or eleven around the time this occurs.

**The Nothing**

They'd beaten him. He was used to the occasional slap and the rough way they handled him. In his mind, it translated as that they simply saw no reason to treat him with special care. He could understand that; because he did not treat a wrench with much care and to them he was the same as the wrench. He was a tool they used. That was okay, as long as his base desires were fulfilled.

But this was different. This time they had poured out their hate on him with punches and kicks and hands shaking him so hard that his head spun. He'd never been treated like this before. It was like taking the wrench, a wrench that had served you as well as a wrench could, and tearing it apart and twisting it until it was nothing like it had been.

Querl felt like parts of him had been ripped away and the rest of him had been crumpled up into uselessness. The empty, blank room he'd been locked in felt like the bottom of a waste bin. It was so dark and he was in too much pain.

He searched through his memories desperately for something that would comfort him. Finally, his mind settled on the image that comforted him in his dreams. He closed his eyes and imagined he could feel her warm arms around him, holding him close.

"Mother," he mumbled through split, bleeding lips. "I miss you. It hurts so much."

For a time, he drifted in and out of consciousness. It could have been days that he stayed curled up on the floor or it could have merely been hours – he didn't know. When he was awake, there was nothing. No sounds or interesting sights kept his attention. He was utterly alone.

Eventually, a voice broke through the nothingness. It dragged Querl into waking and his mind latched onto it, desperate for stimulation. He strained to hear what the voice was saying.

"-a child! You can't treat a little boy like this; I don't care how smart he is!" The voice sounded so angry, Querl noted. "Open the door, by damn, or I'll have you all in Takron Galtos before the day's out, do you hear me?!"

The threat seemed enough and the door suddenly slid open, shining light in on Querl. He winced and hid his eyes behind his hands to avoid the pain. Footsteps moved towards him and he could feel the presence of another person as the owner of the voice knelt down beside him and a large hand settled gently on his shoulder.

"Are you alright there, son?" the man asked kindly. "Look at me for a moment." Slowly, Querl lowered his hands to look up at the man. An aging, wrinkled face smiled back at him. "By damn, you're a Dox for sure," the man remarked. "Come on, lad; let's get you out of here."

Querl didn't fight as the old man lifted him up from the floor. Weak and aching, he let his face rest against the man's chest as he was carried out into the blessed light.

"Hurts," he whispered hoarsely, flinching from the pain the radiance inflicted on him.

The old man held him closer and murmured to him, "Bear with it and it will be okay soon. I'm taking you somewhere safe, Querl. You don't have to hurt anymore."

Like any child might, Querl began to cry softly against his chest. He didn't understand. Why had everything changed? Was it going to be okay again? Was the nothing gone for good and was he really safe now?

"I just want my mother," he whispered helplessly. "Where is she? Why hasn't she come for me?"

The man he would come to know as R.J. Brande pressed a kiss to his forehead. "It's alright. Just rest for now and things will be better when you wake up."

For some reason, Querl trusted his words without question. Cradled in his savior's arms, he drifted off once more, praying that this time he would wake up to life again.

~END


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